X14 Box
| PART Summary | |
|---|---|
| Vehicle | X14 ROV Sub-Optimal |
| Contributors | Corina Capuano |
Rated to 10m depth (100kPa) Seal tested to 50psi (344kPa) equivalent depth 34.4m
The Power Box is the heart of the ROV, housing our custom circuit boards which convert and disseminate power to the various enclosures, tools, and thruster electronic speed controllers (ESCs), and the main Raspberry Pi. The Power Box receives power and pilot commands through the Bulgin and Ethernet binder connectors, respectively. The Power Box supports connections to 12 brushless DC motors (BLDCs) including 8 thrusters as well as multiple USB cameras via Binder ports. The Box also connects to the pneumatics enclosure and a depth sensor. Even with this set of connections the ROV still has multiple additional ports available. This provides design flexibility and allows forward-compatibility to incorporate more cameras or tools as required. The rectangular form of the box is well-suited to rectangular PCBs, which provide ample space for experimenting with board orientation, cable routing methods, or new boards as needed.
This year's Power Box is similar to last year's box, but now houses both power and logic electronics thanks to improved board design and cameras. Additionally, computer analysis allowed for further optimization to maximize internal volume while minimizing weight. The box is CNC milled out of a single block of 6061-T6 aluminum. Unlike welded construction, potential leaks are limited to the lid seal and port seals. The enclosure seals to a custom manufactured lid via a face seal using 1/8” x-profile o-ring, and has a vacuum port to test the seal. Hydrostatic finite element analysis (FEA) was performed to determine the minimum wall thickness needed to prevent failure due to water pressure at the bottom of the pool. Including a factor of safety and accounting for constraints due to required fastener wall thickness, we were able to decrease the weight by over one pound compared to last year’s power box.
